…describes him as idiot, stupid

By Sam Eyoboka

BABATUNDE Gbolahan Bakare, a University of Lagos trained lawyer, teacher, author, activist and arguably the most politically influential prophetic-apostolic pastor who was the running mate to the presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 Nigerian presidential election.

Pastor Bakare who claims to be Number 16 in line to succeed President Buhari, was formerly a pastor at the Deeper Life Bible Church before he left to join the Redeemed Christian Church of God which he soon left to form his own, the Latter Rain Assembly, now known as Dominion Hall, Citadel Global Community Church.

Recently, he came under criticism for devoting a princely sum of N18 billion for the mega church project and earmarking another N560 million to import 5,200 chairs for the 5,000 capacity auditorium.

His ardent follower in the last 24 years, Samuel Ilori frowned at the whole idea of the Citadel arguing that Pastor Bakare who criticized Bishop David Oyedepo for building a 50,000 seater auditorium, had claimed that God told him that the current site of Latter Rain Assembly on Akilo Street, was specially reserved for the church, arguing that the piece of land on Oregun Road in Ikeja could have been used for a hospital and that local furniture makers could do well to supply the furniture at less cost and that the Abeokuta-born pastor has actually derailed from his divine calling to preach, prophecy and pray and strayed into politics.

In his initial reaction to the interview published by Saturday Vanguard, titled: “Re: The Vanguard Interview of February 15, 2020,” Pastor Bakare said: “For the first time, I spent time to read the interview granted by an aggrieved member about the Citadel and the Chairs we are considering to purchase for the main sanctuary. Please spend some time to read the interview very well before making up your mind on the response(s) that the interview deserves, if any.

“Reading through the interview in Vanguard Newspaper today, I noticed that this aggrieved member actually said so many good and complimentary things about our ministry. He also stated what he disagreed with. It is my considered opinion, that he should not be crucified for his views or convictions.

“At best, we should seek to persuade him with our own convictions and show him the areas he did not get right. I will be the last person to go to war with a person over his beliefs or his persuasion.

“He definitely got some things mixed up which we must do our best to correct. But his right of expression must be respected. The only way to show a piece of stick that it is crooked is to put a straight stick by its side. I am very careful when it comes to my response to criticism by a long-standing member.

“If such criticism is spiteful, I will do my best to correct every wrong impression without trading insults with any one. However, if it is accurate, I treat it as a necessary feedback and learn from such. This is the hallmark of genuine leaders. After all, the best of men are still men at the very best. We are all work in progress.

“In conclusion, whereas, I cannot justify his approach and the manner he has gone to criticize our collective efforts, I consider it appropriate to put the true story out without repeating his own blunders or joining issues with him. The answer to slander remains prayers. Let us intercede for this brother rather than treat him as an enemy or a mole for those who hate us.

“Hopefully, he will see his errors and make amends before long. If not, we release him into the hands of God, the perfect judge. Blessings,” said Pastor Tunde Bakare in a message to church members.

Contrary to the spirit of the earlier response, in an over hour sermon titled, “Strategic and Unlikely Destiny Partners,” at a special night vigil of the church on February 27, 2020, the fiery preacher tried but failed to heed an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher, Elbert Green Hubbard’s counsel: “The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment,” as on occasions Bakare revealed that he is human after all.

“If I have done anything good for you in 24 years and you treat me that way and you think you’ll get away with it, you are unthankful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous , brutal, despiser of good, traitor, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. From such people, turn away, they will provoke you to wrath. But they will progress no further for their falling will be manifest to us. Why do you want to destroy your own progress in life? Why do you shoot yourself in the foot and get yourself stranded by being hurting, proud, unteachable, no one can correct you or reach out to you? And you spend 24 years to plunge yourself into disaster?” Pastor Bakare who in 2015 tore CAN, PFN leaders for allegedly throwing support for then President Goodluck Jonathan for that year’s elections, declared without mentioning the name of the critical member.

He did not say anything about the issues raised by the aggrieved member who spoke out on behalf of several other silent ones. Instead, he deplored such uncharitable adjectives like “idiot”, “stupid” to describe those who had fallen out of favour.

“You want me to go on national television to be replying an idiot? No, that’s a waste of resources. I’m following the Bible, (Proverbs 12), anyone who hates correction is stupid. I will now go and get one-hour television airtime and pay N4 million to be responding to an idiot? Don’t allow provocation to turn you into a lunatic yourself. Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge but he who hates correction is stupid. When you get to where nobody can correct you, you are stupid, they should leave you alone,” Bakare stated.

The whole message by Pastor Bakare where he boasted that the church would go ahead with the project, promising to spend this year’s Easter weekend at the Citadel and “I will buy the seats and I will reserve one seat for him too.” Before this, the pastor had started the his address this way:

“This evening, by the grace of God, we will continue with part two of the message I first preached or taught here on Wednesday, December 18, 2019 titled: “Strategic and Unlikely Destiny Partners.” If you recall, we defined strategic partners as those people very central, very critical, very crucial and very essential to destiny fulfillment. They are helpers of destiny that God will bring your way to help you fulfill your destiny. You cannot fulfill it on your own or by yourself.

Any vision that God gives to you that you can handle is not likely from God. He’s always giving something bigger than you so that others can be partakers of it. The word unlikely throws a spanner in the theme and it will look like why are they unlikely. I explained to you that they are unlikely because if you are not careful, if you are not discerning, you will pass them by and you will not know. Though they don’t look it, the packaging may be completely not attractive. Yet, they are also destiny partners. When we say strategic destiny partners, you will think of the rich, you will think of men of affluence, men in strategic positions, those who can give you a lift, those who can push you up the ladder.

Those ones are there, there are those who don‘t seem to have anything and yet at critical moments in your life, they are the key to destiny fulfillment. I did say to you that both types are clearly evident in the life of David. From the life of David, we can see five categories of such helpers, some strategic and some very unlikely too. All of them God raised to help David fulfill destiny.

I divided them into five categories and I’ve covered three but I’ll do a summary for those who are hearing it for the first time. As a matter of fact, last Sunday I was surprised, one of my in-laws to be that came said his sister that lives in America said he should remind me that I have not finished strategic and unlikely destiny partners. She’s been watching and following on YouTube.

First category of such helpers of destiny, those who love, defend and protect you come rain or shine although their loyalty naturally should be to your enemies. It’s unexplainable that if you look at the story of Jonathan and David, or David’s wife, Micah the daughter of Saul; the loyalty of Jonathan and Micah should be to their father, but these two people, especially Jonathan, loved David as his own soul and he was willing never to become a king for David to rule and to reign and he protected him against the onslaught of his father.

And when the father gave direction that dead or alive they should bring David to him so he would kill him, the daughter packaged an image on the bed and they carried the image to the father. She was the one who told David to go. So you have such partners as helpers of destiny. I Samuel 18:1-5, I Samuel 19:1-7, I Samuel 19:8-18, I Samuel 23:1-18.

Second category of people; I call them your diamond in the mud or your gold in the dust. This category of destiny helpers are those you helped to discover their own destinies because in discovering their destinies, they will help you to fulfill yours. Remember those ragtag soldiers who were in debt, distressed and discontented who joined themselves to David, they had nothing to offer him. They were ruffians, reject of society but they eventually became mighty men and these were the ones who stood with David all life long and they turned the kingdom of Saul to become the kingdom of David.

David helped them to discover their destinies. Imagine those who helped me today and imagine those who didn’t. I will not pay evil with evil, I will go the extra mile of ensuring that I repay evil with good but there’s no one on Planet Earth that has offered me a cup of cold water that has not gotten a tank of water. And yet at the time they were doing what they were doing, they didn’t even know they were doing anything.

I remember the man who gave me three pence on July 13, 1973 when I was travelling finally to Lagos with my big portmanteau, 35 years later, I gave him an 8-bedroom apartment. I don’t share testimonies because they look like fairy tales. Are there people you are passing by now and are despising now because of where you are, table may turn tomorrow.

David became the captain of these 400 ragtag soldiers and everyone of them became mighty men of David. I Samuel 22:1-2, I Chronicles 11:10-24. Their names were listed for the first time. T hey were nameless at the beginning, they became a force to reckon with.

The third category of destiny helpers are those who through their counsel, prevent you from vengeful spirit so that God can vindicate you. Example was Abigail the wife of Nabal, if she had not run to meet David quickly, David had sworn there would be no male person in the family of Nabal by tomorrow, whether servant or son, they will all be wiped out. And Abigail interceded and intervened and intercepted that vengeful spirit and David said blessed be your counsel.

Anyone with a vengeful spirit or anyone going on a journey to retaliate should dig two graves because retaliation or vengeance have only one shape. The Lord said vengeance is His, not yours. The moment you become vengeful you are likely to hurt yourself at the end.

Abigail intercepted and eventually became the wife of David. God transferred the wealth of Nabal to the man he despised. I Samuel 25:10-20. I remember telling one of my nephews who felt robbed, I said walk away from it, God is able to multiply and give back to you what you lost. Let God handle it. I don’t mind being cheated but I’ll never be the cheat. I’ve seen things happen to those who cheat me. If I open the catalogue of those who ever cheated me, you will not like to be on their side.

Walking away doesn’t mean you are stupid, it means you are operating on a higher level. I sued on behalf of people many times in my life but I never sued on my behalf, not once. There was a time I was almost cheated and robbed, I was building my house and I got Advanced Payment Guarantee from the bank, the bank and the contractor colluded. I had to involve people in Central Bank to intervene. Then they didn’t pay me all that was due to me.

My lawyer said let’s sue them. If you sue them, they will prepare injunction, the house will never be completed. Let them carry it. I finished the house since. Now the time came that the man needed a favor. The head of the organization went to involve a friend of mine who is a traditional ruler, and I told him you cannot put a cat in charge of your fried meat. It will not be in the interest of this nation for me to make such recommendation because if you are unfaithful in that which is little, you are unfaithful in much.

That’s not called retaliation, that’s called reaping what you sowed. The house has since been finished. I’ve forgotten about it. They sent me a beautiful letter recently for my 65th birthday saying I’m a leader of leaders and I read it and laughed.

The fourth category, there are two sets of people in this category and they are both sides of same coin. These are those who are helpers in the war to fulfill your destiny. I remember Mr. President telling me after his election that we suffered in 2011, and this one he didn’t even know where they were getting it from. The flip side is that they are also helpers who will help you when you crash. The Bible says woe unto him who is alone on the day that he falls.

When you pass through the waters and the river and through fire, I will be with you. It’s not if you pass, it’s a question of when if you have not passed through. You see the two sides of the same coin in the life of King David, when it was time to fight war, God raised helpers of the war who came to his rescue. His 600 men could not make it happen. I Chronicles 12:1-2, anytime God wants to cut off the head of Goliath, He will use His sword. Among these helpers of the war were those also who brought loads of things to him.

Look at I Chronicles 12:22-23, if it is according to the word of God it is a waste of time, if it is according to the word of God, He will raise helpers. Don’t try to make things happen, you don’t even have the strength. How long has Bola Ahmed Tinubu been putting structures and things together? Very long. Then you wake up and say it is your turn, he will tell you it is not your 100 weight. Can you match bullion van? Do you have bullion keke? If they gather all the resources of your village and put it together, it won’t fill up a bus.

It reminds me of when I wanted to join the Nigerian Army in 1967. Yinka Fowora my classmate had already been taken, and he came to tell me. He came in army uniform, and I was more brilliant than him. I was told to go home and eat because I was not qualified. Isn’t it amazing that others put the PDP platform together and they registered it as a party and the man who was in prison who knew nothing about it became the president? You want me to go and work so hard and save so much money and match them?

Except I will join them but I can’t join them and I can’t beat them. He’s going to bring it when we need it. Those who helped him to become, you will still need those who will help you when you are thrown out and finding your way back because his son Absalom rose against him and kicked him out of power. He left everything. The king walked on top of the rock without any shoes on. They were throwing dust at him, that was a low moment. In that instance, you need others who will help you back. II Samuel 17:27-29. God help you that you fall into the hands of those who specialize in shooting those who are wounded, if that happens, they will make meat out of you.

Replying an idiot?

You want me to go on national television to be replying an idiot? No! That’s a waste of resources. I’m following the Bible, (Proverbs 12). Anyone who hates correction is stupid. I will now go and get one-hour television airtime and pay N4 million to be responding to an idiot? Don’t allow provocation to turn you into a lunatic yourself. Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge but he who hates correction is stupid. When you get to where nobody can correct you, you are stupid, they should leave you alone. II Samuel 17:27-29, they left home in a hurry and didn’t take any basin.

The king would have slept on the floor if they didn’t provide bed. At that low moment, may God raise people who will be sympathetic towards your course. Nothing shows you who your friends are like adversity. When you are rich you have two things in large quantity; false friends and true enemies. It’s when you are down that you know those who truly are yours.

David was down at this stage. You think its PhD that gets people to become minister? Somebody recommend them. The president cannot know everybody, it’s not possible. In between those who will help you to get into power and those who will help you to get back in case you fall out of power are individual helpers who will go the extra mile to bring you relieve materials, refresh your soul when you are seemingly down and out.

It’s not because you are out of favor but you are going through excruciating experience because you had fallen. These type of people believe in what you are doing, and will look everywhere to get you back. II Timothy 1:13-18, these are people who will not say your own is too much. There are people who just believe in you regardless of what happens.

They are going to be there for you. And there are those who are waiting for you to fall. As many that are led by the spirit of God, we are going to spend those three days there, April 10-12 honoring God and blessing the poor. The chairs that we have not bought, and guess what, as the Lord lives, I will buy those chairs. I will seat on them, and I will reserve one seat for him too and say don’t be ashamed, come and seat.

The fifth category, the very unlikely helpers because of their seeming insignificance or perhaps because they themselves need help first and foremost. If you look at them, there’s nothing to write home about them and yet they are helpers of your destiny. Ziklag was just born I Samuel 30. David encouraged himself in the word of God. If I didn’t know how to encourage myself, some of your side comments would have derailed me long ago. David inquired and God said to him, pursue, overtake and you shall surely recover all.

He left 200 who were too weary and left with 200. As they were pursuing, they didn’t know where they were going, then they saw this Egyptian, servant of an Amalekite, David paused and said this is life at risk, feed him. He should have been in a hurry to be running. He waited, they fed him, they gave him cake, they gave him wine. He said his master left him behind because he fell sick three days ago. They left this man because he was sick. He had been useful but now they abandoned him, but that was the key to recovery for David.

I do not want to commit blasphemy but I will like to say God knows about this sickness. Don’t look for our enemies from outside of Nigeria. There are those who are providing funds for the ammunition they are using. They don’t eat fig leaves, they eat food. God will deliver us. And David said can you take me down to this troop? So he said swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me to the hands of my master and I will take you down to this troop.

When you find a servant like this, you let him become a citizen and you allow him to live where he chooses. Deuteronomy 23:15-16. This Egyptian became a Jew because without him, David would not have recovered all and yet he looks unlikely to be a helper.

How many people have you passed by that you do not know are the key to your future? I don’t like telling this story but I will tell it; it was my second year in the university and I saw this pretty looking black babe and I said I think I like her character so I went close and we became friends. We ate lunch once or twice and then I told her my heart desire and she said to her friend, can you imagine this mosquito. She didn’t tell me directly but the friend told me I better don’t waste my time because she said I’m a mosquito.

So I swallowed the bitter pill. A day came when things were now changed, she was already married, I didn’t know her husband, I didn’t even know her. Her husband met Late Dr. Adebajo and I, wanting to start some business but lacked capital to invest and we looked at the proposal, it was something we could afford and we decided to help him and he went home and told his wife and the wife said can you bring your partners home so I could at least do dinner for them.

We didn’t know where we were going so Dr. Adebajo and I went there, we got there and he said meet my wife and she said it is you? I said yes, mosquitoes too have life. Let’s leave it there. I will not hurt you but you cannot remove my elephant memory. How many men have you looked down upon?

The bible says Rebecca climbed down from the camel, you need to get down from your camel and not despise people, they may be the key to your future recovery. I have a personal example of our house help called Iyabo, in the time that we crashed, I was 13.7 million buoyant on a Monday and by Thursday I was -600,000. Money had gone. And I had N8500 left everywhere. Christmas was coming. I gave the N8500 to my wife. This was about November, I told her to keep the money and buy something for our only two daughters then for their Christmas, at least we could kill one chicken.

But I would need money out of it to go to Port Harcourt to pursue my clients. She kept the money and I left for church, she was heavy with Segun at that time, I can remember. She came to meet me in church and asked if I took the money. That was all that was left everywhere. She said she couldn’t find it. At the end of the day our house girl admitted she took the money. She said some people hit her chest and she went home and located the money and gave it to them. I asked her where, she took me to behind New World Hotel, we didn’t find anybody.

When we got back home, I have never beaten a human being like that, it was vexation. She cried and I left her and went to sleep. I couldn’t travel. Generator had knocked, our car engine had knocked. We crashed completely. And then about 9.00 pm network news time, they brought light back and I sat to watch news, the plane I was to take that morning crashed and everybody died. I called Iyabo and prostrated and thanked her for taking the money. If the money had not gone I’d have been history. God allowed it to happen to save my life. There are strategic unlikely destiny helpers. We blessed Iyabo and made sure she had something to do, learnt a trade and blessed her when she was leaving us because but for her, I’d be history today.

I have a timely warning for you; beware of those who appear to be helpers of destiny but are opportunistic pretenders. II Samuel 1:1-16, an Amalekite who knew nothing about how Saul died and now took the crown and went to David and said I saw that Saul was struggling and I killed him and brought his crown to you. And David said you are not afraid to kill the anointed of God so he released his men on him and they killed him. Do you really know that the bible says if God says He is going to punish your enemy and you rejoice, He will stop and put it over your head. You must work as believers and not fight useless battles.

The reason God can’t fight for many of us is because we have done the fighting ourselves. If David was not operating in superior discernment, he would treat the Amalekite as a friend and a helper but he was a pretender, a time bomb.

When people come around and flatter me and think it gets into me, not at all. Sons of Rimmon murdered Ishboseth, Ishboseth the son of Saul had become king, these two sons of Rimmon went to him in the afternoon when he was having siesta and killed him and took the head to David, David got angry and asked his men to fall on them. It was after those people were eliminated that David became king. But they would have become a cabal of his kingdom because they would have been saying we helped you.

You cursed yourself

He allowed them to be wasted. How can anyone in his right mind say I’m taking money from the poor, me? I don’t need to open my mouth to say anything, you already cursed yourself but I pray that God in His mercy will be merciful unto you. I will not backfire on you. Me, in 30 years, whose gold or silver have I taken? I’ve not coveted any man’s silver or gold, I’d rather lay down my life so you become better and better. You turn around and say I collect money from the poor, which poor?

I got home one day, my first daughter, Olubunmi was very young then and she said she has been watching Christian television all day and from the moment they announce you, you were just fighting and fighting, who are you fighting? I said when you grow up you will know. I said are you ashamed of me as your father? She said no but it’s difficult being your daughter. You don’t know the price they have to pay. They have school mates. When Olubunmi turned 21, her friends asked which type of car is your daddy buying for you? Is it Lamborghini, she said no we don’t spend money that way. The friend said to her maybe the tithes and offering are low.

READ ALSO: Pastor Bakare’s ardent follower frowns at N13b cost of new church

These things are real. Galatians 2. God is my witness, I prepared this message in December, I did first part then, I’m doing second part now. So it’s not me reacting to current happenings, I don’t react to things. Are there examples of false brethren in the bible? Plenty. II Timothy 13:1-15. Another one is in II Timothy 3:1-9. Jannes and Jambres. If I’ve done anything good for you in 24 years and you treat me that way and you think you’ll get away with it, you are unthankful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderers, brutal, despisers of good, traitor, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

From such people, turn away. They will provoke you to wrath. But they will progress no further for their falling will be manifest to us. Why do you want to destroy your own progress in life? Why do you shoot yourself in the foot and get yourself stranded by being hurty, proud, unteachable, no one can correct you or reach out to you? And you spend 24 years to plunge yourself into disaster? It doesn’t make sense. I’m saying this so that maybe God in His mercy can still reach out to you because you are not beyond redemption unless God intercepts. If your colleagues can’t pull you back, if no one can talk to you anymore, you are ruined.

One of them was a faithful follower of Paul, Paul was always giving him credit for services he rendered. II Timothy 4:9. Having loved this present world. If Paul were to write his CV, you will not employ him as a pastor. I Timothy 4:14-15. Alexander did me much harm, may the Lord repay him according to his works. When this matter started, I prayed only one prayer, for that brother who wrote all those things and said all those things about me, I said Lord whatever I think towards him, give it back to me seven folds and God do not forget to pay him for whatever he thinks towards me. Very simple prayer. If I’ve thought evil towards him, let it return to me in seven folds, but whatever he thinks towards me, let him have it also seven folds.

That’s deadly. I’m not sweet potato, I do not want to be provoked. I’m walking a thin line. They provoked Moses, instead of speaking to the rod, he struck the rod, who got disqualified? Moses. We have to be careful because we are at that stage of crossing our own River Jordan.

You also must beware of him because he has greatly resisted our words. The reason I said we should come to vigil, I will read it to you, he said Pastor Bakare’s members met down the road and signed a petition. I know its lies; I know its propaganda. But if you want to join, you know I’m one person that will tell you that which you want to do, do it quickly. My security is not in who shows up here. My security is not in the call of God; my security is in the God of the call. He called me, you better believe that, and He will fight my battles. False brethren are unrepentantly in opposition to your destiny.

False brethren are time bombs planted by the enemy to create a disaffection, however they will get their just reward from God. I want to read the scripture that frightens daylight out of me and helps me to fight my battles. I’ve faced all kinds of oppositions, then they will come back in secret to be pleading with me and I look at them and say but why did you do it? They will say its Satan. God will surely repay those who oppose you unjustly.

The scripture says if a man’s way pleases the Lord, even His enemies will be at peace with him, and if a man’s ways does not please the Lord, he will raise people to oppose him. I don’t preach half-truth. When Solomon began to dip into idolatry, God raised opposition against him. So before you step into the battlefield, you better check, or else you shoot yourself in the foot.

You must be crystal clear in your mind that you have done no wrong, then don’t fight yourself, leave it in the hands of God. II Thessalonian 1:3, where love abounds towards each other, you will not dig your brother’s grave, you will not be your brother’s killer, you will be your brother’s or sister’s keeper. Verse 5 says in His justice, He will payback those who persecute you.

God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted. He will payback trouble for those who trouble you. So why do you want to trouble anybody? Because that person will not trouble you. Its God that will trouble you, and when God troubles you. Go and ask Saul, Eli and everyone God has ever troubled. If God’s hands is upon a man, if you cannot be his friend, don’t be his enemy. Why kick against someone who has been a blessing to you?

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